Tag: AEP

PSC Decision May Help Appalachian Power Parent Save On Taxes

American Electric Power reported Thursday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will record a pretax charge of $222 million for the third quarter of 2023.

Appalachian Power’s parent company will report a pretax loss as a result of a West Virginia Public Service Commission’s decision this week.

American Electric Power reported Thursday to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it will record a pretax charge of $222 million for the third quarter of 2023.

That reflects the PSC’s disallowance of $232 million of the $553 million the company sought to recover from electricity customers for fuel costs going back to 2021.

In addition to helping reduce the company’s tax burden, the loss appears to have no effect on AEP’s plan to pay its shareholders $1.9 billion in 2024, $200 million more than it paid them in 2023, according to an investor presentation this week.

Appalachian Power did say Wednesday that it planned to explore legal options for the PSC ruling. The commission’s decision Tuesday allowed the company to recover $321 million from customers. That will cost the average household $2.50 a month for 10 years.

Appalachian Power is an underwriter of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Those ‘Restricted’ Banks? They May Be Supporting Fossil Fuels After All

JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are among the top six institutions worldwide to invest in companies that burn coal, according to the Sierra Club.

JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are on the state’s restricted financial institutions list. They got there because Treasurer Riley Moore determined last year that they are engaged in a boycott of fossil fuels.

A new report from the Sierra Club, however, shows all those institutions invest in electric utilities that are heavy users of coal.

JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are among the top six institutions worldwide to invest in companies that burn coal.

British bank Barclays, which is not on the state’s restricted institutions list, is the largest investor in West Virginia’s top power companies, American Electric Power and FirstEnergy. Barclays is also the top financier of coal-burning utilities in the world, according to the report.

These and eight other power companies operate coal-burning power plants in 16 states.

The top six banks all made commitments to align their investments with the Paris Agreement yet have invested nearly $84 billion in coal-burning utilities since 2016, the report found. 

Jared Hunt, a Treasury spokesman, said the banks were placed on the list based on their publicly available policy statements.

Virtually all banks have set net-zero goals for carbon dioxide emissions and have made commitments to environmental, social and governance, or ESG standards.

Yet as the Sierra Club report shows, many of them continue to support fossil fuels.

Showcasing Rescue Horses And Our Song Of The Week This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, Caroline MacGregor reports on one of the largest equine events to showcase rescue and at-risk horses taking place in Winfield, West Virginia. And as classes resume at WVU students react to the university’s proposed program cuts.

On this West Virginia Morning, Caroline MacGregor reports on one of the largest equine events to showcase rescue and at-risk horses taking place in Winfield, West Virginia.

Also, as classes resume at WVU, students react to the university’s proposed program cuts, a vocational aviation facility coming to Marion County is expected to stimulate high-tech job growth, and proposed changes to solar energy in the state.

In this show, our Mountain Stage Song of the Week comes to us from an encore broadcast of Mountain Stage featuring the powerful soul-rock of The War And Treaty, 2022 Americana Music Association’s Duo/Group of the Year. We hear their song “Lover’s Game,” a soulful rocker with a retro style that brings to mind the glory days of Ike & Tina Turner.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content. 

Support for our news bureaus comes from Concord University and Shepherd University.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Charleston Area Medical Center and Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Caroline MacGregor, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Briana Heaney, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Liz McCormick, and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Caroline MacGregor is our assistant news director and producer.

Teresa Wills is our host. Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

Kentucky Power Customers Pay More Than Neighbors And West Virginia

Electricity from Kentucky Power is $25 higher than Wheeling Power’s West Virginia average monthly bill of $162.43. Electricity for both Wheeling Power and Kentucky Power is generated by the Mitchell Plant in Moundsville.

Kentucky Power customers pay higher average monthly bills than Wheeling Power customers, even though their power comes from the same plant.

The average monthly residential bill for Kentucky Power customers is $187.56. That’s higher than any of the state’s investor-owned or municipal power companies, or rural electric cooperatives, according to the Energy and Environment Cabinet’s Kentucky Energy Profile.

It’s $50 more than Kentucky Utilities and $74 higher than Louisville Gas & Electric.

It’s $25 higher than Wheeling Power’s West Virginia average monthly bill of $162.43. Electricity for both Wheeling Power and Kentucky Power is generated by the Mitchell Plant in Moundsville.

Kentucky Power and Wheeling Power are owned by American Electric Power, based in Columbus, Ohio.

In late 2021, AEP moved to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin Power, a Canadian company. Late last year, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rejected the sale.

Kentucky Power serves 165,000 customers in part or all of 20 eastern Kentucky counties.

The Mitchell Plant will not produce electricity for Kentucky Power past 2028. That’s because utility regulators in each state made conflicting decisions on whether to upgrade Mitchell to operate longer. West Virginia ratepayers will pay for those upgrades. Kentucky’s will not.

Daniel Cameron, Kentucky’s Attorney General and Republican nominee for governor, supported the Kentucky Public Service Commission’s decision to reject the upgrades to the Mitchell plant.

AEP Calls Off Sale Of Kentucky Power To Algonquin Power

AEP had reached an agreement in late 2021 to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin Power, based in Canada, for $2.85 billion.

American Electric Power has called off the sale of its Kentucky Power subsidiary.

AEP had reached an agreement in late 2021 to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin Power, based in Canada, for nearly $3 billion.

Kentucky Power serves 165,000 customers in 20 Eastern Kentucky counties. The power is generated by the Mitchell plant in Moundsville, West Virginia. Kentucky Power and Wheeling Power own the plant jointly.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied approval of the sale in December.

“We are committed to our operations in Kentucky,” AEP spokeswoman Tammy Ridout said in a statement. “We have refocused our efforts on partnering with key stakeholders in Eastern Kentucky to bring opportunities to the region and support the communities we serve.”

When the Mitchell plant required tens of millions of dollars in wastewater treatment upgrades, West Virginia regulators approved the work, but Kentucky’s did not.

The upgrades were necessary to keep the plant operating beyond 2028.

Because of the conflicting decisions between the two states, Kentucky Power will not receive electricity from the plant after 2028, Ridout said.

“The existing operating agreement remains in place, and the companies will work on how to best transition ownership,” she said.

Future Of Mitchell Power Plant Becomes Campaign Issue, In Kentucky

In ads and mailers, Craft has been going after Cameron for something he recommended nearly two years ago: The state public service commission should let the power plant shut down.

Kentucky residents may have heard this political ad recently:

“Coal powers Kentucky. But coal-fired power plants are being shut down by Joe Biden, and politicians like Daniel Cameron are doing nothing to stop it. I’m supporting Kelly Craft, because she stands with Kentucky coal.”

Craft, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, and Cameron, Kentucky’s attorney general, are vying for the Republican nomination for governor.

In ads and mailers, Craft has been going after Cameron for something he recommended nearly two years ago: The state public service commission should let a power plant shut down.

Kentucky Power’s Mitchell plant in Moundsville, West Virginia, supplies electricity to about 165,000 customers in 20 eastern Kentucky counties.

The plant needs upgrades, paid for by ratepayers. West Virginia regulators approved them. Kentucky’s did not.

Cameron argued that the plant didn’t employ Kentucky workers or contribute to the state’s economy. He favored letting the half of Mitchell that Kentucky Power owns shutter in 2028.

Craft’s ad and mailer cite reporting by West Virginia Public Broadcasting in 2021 with its regional partner at the time, the Ohio Valley ReSource.

The mailer was printed to look like a notice of a rate increase.

In a recent tweet, Cameron said, “I’ll never stop fighting back against climate alarmists who threaten our coal and natural gas industries.”

Craft is married to Joe Craft, a coal company executive, and served in former President Donald Trump’s White House. Cameron has the endorsement of Trump, who campaigned on reviving coal.

But coal-fired power plants are shutting down, because they’ve not been competitive with natural gas, and more recently, renewables. While natural gas is the dominant fuel for producing electricity, renewables surpassed coal last year for the first time.

Mitchell is one of three West Virginia coal plants that will get new wastewater treatment systems to keep them operating beyond 2028, with ratepayers covering the cost.

Meanwhile, the Mitchell plant remains in operation while American Electric Power attempts to sell its Kentucky Power subsidiary.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied the sale in December, but AEP has applied once again to sell Kentucky Power to Algonquin, a Canadian company that plans to replace coal with renewables.

Craft and Cameron are among 12 Republicans in the race to challenge Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, in November. The coal issue is likely to come up in their next debate in April.

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